There’s a modern-day treasure chest buried in the Rocky Mountains.
Howard Pyle, “The Ruby of Kishmoor,” 1899
No, really, there is.
Well, okay, I haven’t actually seen said treasure with my own eyes,
(so I guess it’s more gossip than gospel),
but it sounds true enough.
The story goes …
Vietnam veteran and art gallery proprietor (and, oh, did I mention millionaire?) Forrest Fenn closed his gallery in 1988 and began writing books about exploration and adventure.
Shortly thereafter, however, he was diagnosed with cancer. With a less-than-optimistic prognosis, he decided to create a real-life adventure tale that would serve to, someday, share his wealth in a rather unusual manner.
“While receiving cancer treatment, Forrest Fenn purchased an antique chest and began filling it with an estimated $2 million worth of treasure” explains Inquisitr.com. “The items inside the chest include jewelry, figurines, gems, gold nuggets, and 265 gold coins.”
Photo by Theodore Scott via Wikimedia Commons
Yup. A veritable pirate’s booty hidden high and dry in the Rockies (somewhere, Fenn says, in New Mexico, Colorado, Wyoming, or Montana).
Photo by Milan Suvajac via Wikimedia Commons
Nine more clues to finding the treasure are purportedly provided in a poem contained within Fenn’s 2010 book, The Thrill of the Chase (which is currently selling for about 100 smackeroos on Amazon, if you’re wondering).
The first question that comes to mind is … why?
Why, Mr. Fenn, would you bury a fortune that has fueled fevered fantasies and fervid searches over the past decade?
“I wanted the monetary value to be a consideration for those who are looking for it, but mostly my motive was to get kids off the couch and away from their texting machines and out in the mountains,” Fenn, who has thankfully recovered from cancer, told KOAT in Albuquerque.
Huh—(shaking my head here)—that’s a surprisingly refreshing response.
My next question …
Are YOU even the littlest bit tempted to try and find it?
Welcome New Sisters! (click for current roster)
Merit Badge Awardees (click for latest awards)
My featured Merit Badge Awardee of the Week is … Melanie Jones!!!
Melanie Jones (#4211) has received a certificate of achievement in Make it Easy for earning an Intermediate Level Carp-hen-try Merit Badge!
“I built my first chicken coop!!! I drove around town looking for scrap wood, pallets, and siding. I ended up with two shelves from my local Aldi supermarket, two pallets from a local business, and some tin roofing from an old farm house. It took a Friday and a Saturday, but the end result was spectacular!
Altogether, I spent $20 and some change on this chicken coop, including the chickens and feed! Now I have two happy chicks and one happy farmgirl!”
Why is one of the main ingredients in my toothpaste also one of the three things that were so precious in ancient times that they were gifted by the Three Wise Men to the baby Jesus at his birth?
Myrrh … even the word sounds soothing. Kind of like purr(h) …
Myrrh is the aromatic resin of several small, thorny trees in the genus Commiphora. And soothing it is. It was once used as a treatment for toothaches, and now appears in toothpaste for its anti-microbial, anti-viral, astringent, and antiseptic qualities.
Photo by Alsterdrache via Wikimedia Commons
But why a precious gift? Even though myrrh was mentioned in the Old Testament as a rare perfume with intoxicating qualities, its role as one of the three gifts isn’t as clear as that of gold, a precious metal and valuable commodity, and frankincense, another resin that was often burned as an offering in worship. Myrrh was also a component of holy incense and was used as a anointing oil, and all three of the gifts were standard offerings to honor a king or deity in the ancient world.
But frankincense and myrrh’s powerful herbal healing properties could also have had a role in their choice as precious gifts. Frankincense and myrrh both have proven antiseptic, analgesic, and anti-inflammatory properties, and were once considered remedies for everything from toothaches to chronic coughs to indigestion to hemorrhoids to leprosy. Myrrh was commonly carried into the battlefield to treat wounds by the ancient Greeks. Hippocrates, the father of modern medicine, mentioned myrrh more frequently than any other plant substance in his writings.
Today, both frankincense and myrrh are commonly used in traditional Chinese medicine, Ayurvedic medicine, and aromatherapy. Myrrh is used as a natural remedy for treating a variety of ailments, including skin conditions, congestion, asthma, indigestion, ulcers, and joint pain. It’s also known to protect against liver damage and has been shown to inhibit the growth of cancer cells and to lower cholesterol. Many natural toothpastes contain myrrh to soothe irritated gums, mouth, and throat; to fight plaque; and to promote healing.
Purr(h).
If you’re already yearning for an ocean vacation, complete with snorkeling, I have just the vicarious voyage for you … The Google Oceans mapping tool is one more way in which Google packs up the imagination and sends it sailing around … Continue reading Continue reading
Buy props used in MaryJane’s books and magazine!
5% of profits will benefit www.firstbook.org, a non-profit that provides new books to children from low-income families throughout the U.S. and Canada.
Here’s how:
MaryJane will post a photo and a description of a prop and its cost along with a few details as to its condition here: https://shop.maryjanesfarm.org/MaryJanesCurations. It’s a playful way to be the new owner of a little bit of farm herstory.
